Internal-combustion engine.



' w.is. RUSSELL. INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 18, 1911.

2 sums-sum 1.

FIG. I

- WITNESSES:

IN VEN TOR.

Patented Nov. 5, 1912.

W. s. RUSSELL. INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 18, 1911.

Patented Npv. 5, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WEBBER S. RUSSELL, OF CI-IICAGO,-ILLINOIS.

"INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, VVEBBER S. RUssELL', a citizen of the United, States, residing at Chicago, county ofCook, State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Im provement in Internal-Combustion Engines, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact'descriptionof thesame, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which 10 it pertains to make and use the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of'this specification.

In two-cycle internal combustion engines there is a power impulse during each revolution of the crank shaft, the combustion gases being discharged and a new supply of gaseous fueldelivered to the cylinder during a small fraction of the movement of the piston at the end of its power stroke and at the beginning of the compression strokel One of the chief problems is that of clearing the cylinder of the. waste gases and filling it with the fuel charge during the short space of time which may be allowed for this purpose. In the usual types of two-cycle engines the crank case is made tightso that it will serve as a reservoir. On the compression stroke, a supply .of. gaseous fuel is 1 drawn into the crank case and it is slightly compressed when the piston returns on'its power stroke. Just before the end of the power stroke is reached the piston uncovers an exhaust port-which permits the products of combustion to pass out of the cylinder. Shortly thereafter a port leading from the interior of the crank case to the cylinder is uncoverede by the piston and the slightly compressed fuel flowsfrom the crank case into the cylinder. At the beginning of .the return stroke of thepiston it first covers the inlet p'ort'to the cylinder and then the'exhaust'port, the charge of combustible being thereafter confined in the cylinder-and being compressed duringthe remainder of the .siderably. above atmospheric pressure and consequently the products of combustion begin to flow rapidly out of the exhaust port. If the exhaust pipe leading from the exhaust port is of any considerable length, the inertia of the mass of spent gases flowing through the same is suflicient to produce a partial vacuum in the cylinder. Therefore, when the inlet port is opened, the incoming Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed March 18, 19i1. Serial No. 615,235.

Patented Nov. 5, i912.

charge is both pushed in by the pressure in' the crank case and pulled in by the vacuum in the cylinder. The result is that part of the charge is invariably sucked out of the exhaust port and wasted. Furthermore, since it is impossible to produce a complete vacuum-in the cylinder, some of the prodnets of combustion remain and dilute the charge of combustible and thus produce a an ordinary engine have been proposed and used to some extent for the purpose of scavenging the cylinders of burnt gases.

My invention'has for its object the complete' clearing of theengine cylinder in a simple and reliable 'manner of the products of combustion during each cycle of operations andthe introduction of the combustible without waste or loss of the latter.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention are characterized will hereinafter he pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken'in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: p

. Figure l is a central longitudinal section of a two-cycle engine arranged in accordance with one form of my invention; and Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing an elaboration of the principle 9f my invention.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, 1 represents the cylinder and 2 the inclosed cra'nk case of a two-cycle internal combust1on engine. 3 is the? piston, 4 the crankshaft and 5 the connecting rod or pistonrod extending from' the piston to the crank shaft. The means for'igniting the charge is illustrated as taking the form of a spark plug 6. 7 and 8 are respectively an exhaust port and an inlet port, the piston acting as a valve controlling both, and the exhaust port being so located that it will 'be opened shortly before the end of the power stroke of the piston is reached and also before the inlet port is opened. The inlet port is c011- nected to the interior of the crank case by a conduit 9. The fuel is supplied to the engine through a carbureter 10 whose delivery end leads into the interior of the crank case.

All of the parts heretofore described may take. any usual or preferred forms since they, of themselves, form no part ofthe present invention.

The piston, as is usual, is provided with a suitable deflector, 11, adapted to direct the infiowing gases longitudinally of the cylinder and away from the exhaust port.

In the' drawing the piston is shown as just approaching the end of the power stroke, the exhaust port having been opened to permit the products of combustion to es cape. In accordance with my invention I provide for admitting air into the cylinder at this point in the cycle of operation in simple manner so that instead of a partial vacuum being produced, fresh air is drawn into the cylinder to take the place of the products of combustion. I introduce the air through a port 12 which, like the ports "I and 8, is controlled by the piston; this auxiliary port being so situated longitudinally of the cylinder that it will be opened only after the exhaust port has been at least partially opened and before the fuel-inlet port has been uncovered. By this arrangement, the ma or portion of the products of combustion rush out through the exhaust port and lower the pressure within the cylinder to a point below atmospheric pressure, and then the air port is opened and fresh air rushes in. I prefer to place the air port so that it will have the same'relation to the deflector on the piston as has the fuel inlet port. Consequently the incoming air will flow along the side of the cylinder, then over to the opposite side and down toward the exhaust port, sweeping the combustion gases before it and clearing the cylinder more or less completely. Then, when the gaseous fuel enters, it follows the same path as the air which preceded it, pushes the air before it and completes the clearing of the cylinder.

It will be seen that before the combustible can flow out of the exhaust port, not only all e dition to the initial cost of the engine and no addition tot-he up-kee'p cost.

The degree of vacuum which the' outgoing products of combustion tend to produce in the cylinder determines the amount of fresh air which is drawn in and it de-- pends upon the mass of the gas column between the exhaust port and the final outlet to the air. By connecting an exhaust pipe, such as 13, with the exhaust port, a column of flowing gas the length of the'pipe is produced .whenever the exhaust port is uneovered. The exhaust pipe may be lengthened or shortened to vary the amount of air which will be drawn into the cylinder. The longer the exhaust pipe the more effective will be the clearing of the cylinder; this being true as the pipe is enlarged until its cubic content is equal to several times that of the cylinder.

In Fig. 2 I have shown an arrangement in which the principles which I have just outlined are extended somewhat. In this figure the engine and its principal parts are the same as in Fig. 1, and, as the mode of operation is the same, I'shall not describe it in detail but call attention to the fact that in the two figures I have marked correspond-- ing parts with the same numerals, adding the exponent a in Fig. 2 wherever there is some formal departure from the corresponding element in Fig. 1.

It will be seen that the air-inlet port re mains open during the entire time that the combustible charge is admitted and for a short time thereafter. It may therefore happen that because all of the combustible must flow directly past the air port, some will escape through the air portand be lost. To prevent this I have provided the air port 12 in the arrangement shown in Fig. 2, with a means for preventing flow therethrough in the outward direction. This may conveniently take the form of a little flap -valve' 14: of leather or other light flexible material. In the arrangement illustrated, the member 14 is contained in a housing 15 situated over the inlet end of the air port. It will be seen that the light flap valve has little mass and inertia so thatit will offer no appreciable resistance to the inflow of air but will close under pressure within the cylinder and prevent escape of the combustible. I am able to,..use a valve of leather or the like because it is not in contact with the burning gases in the cylinder, the airport being closed by the piston at the time the explosion takes place, and the bulk of the products of combustion having escaped through the exhaust port before the air port is opened.

It will be seen that the path followed by the inflowing fresh air and by the fuel is along the sides and across the end of the;

ter of. the cylinder and directly abovev the piston in a more or less dead condition and may result in permitting some of the products of combustion-to remain in the cylinder. To obviate this I have placed in the end of the cylinder a second air-inlet port 16, controlled by a suitable inwardly-opening check valve 17; the port being so arranged that inflowing air will sweep diagonally across the cylinder toward the exhaust port 7. In

this way all danger of pocketing some of the products of combustion is overcome be- 1 cause every .part' of the cylinder will be swept by a stream of fresh air flowing directly or indirectly toward the exhaust port.

The air-inlet port 16 may, if desired, be

supplied withan approach in the form of a pipe, as indicated at 18; affording the ad- Vantage of a moving column of air whose inhaust ertia will prevent the check valve from closing as soon. as it otherwise would, and cooperating with t-he moving column of exgases to force fresh airinto the cylinder. v

If desired, a small revoluble wind wheel 19, having considerable mass, may be mounted in the exhaust pipe 13*, the wheel being set in rotation when the combustion gases first begin to escape, and continuing to ro-' the exhaust port at the time a freshcharge is drawn into the cylinder.

While I have illustrated and described only a single form of my invention disclosing various extension of what I believe to be a new arrangement'of parts, I do not in tend to-be limited to the structural details so illustrated and described; but desire to cover all forms and arrangements which fall within the terms employed in the definitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a two-cycle internal combustion engine, a cylinder having oppositely disposed fuel-inlet and exhaust ports, an engine piston movable in said cylinder and serving as a valve to control said ports, the parts being so arranged that the exhaust port and then the fuel-inlet port are opened as the piston approaches the endof its power stroke, said cylinder hav ng an air-inlet port leading to atmosphere and controlled by the piston and arranged adjacent to and slightly in advance of the fuelinlet port so as to be opened by the piston after the exhaiist port and before the fuel-inlet port, a deflector on said piston arranged to direct air and fuel flowing into the cylinder through said air-inlet port and fuel-inlet port lengthwise of'the cylinder along the adjacent side, said cylinder having a second air-inlet port leading to atmosphere at the end thereof and situated so as to deliver air diagonally across the cylinder toward the exhaust port, and an inwardly-opening check valve associated with said second air inlet port.

2. In a two-cycle internal combustion en gine, a cylinder having oppositely disposed fuel-inlet and exhaust ports, an engine piston movable in said cylinder and serving as a valve to control said ports, the parts being so arranged that the exhaust port and then the fuel-inlet port are opened as the piston approaches the end of its power stroke, said cylinder having also an air-inlet port leading to atmosphere and arranged adjacent to and slightly in advance of the fuel-inlet port so as to be opened after the exhaust port and before the fuel-inlet port, and a-light flap valve arranged to prevent flow of gases outwardly through said air-inlet port.

3. In a twocycle internal combustion engine, a cylinder having oppositely disposed fuel-inlet and exhaust ports, an engine piston movable in said cylinder and serving as a valve to control said ports, the parts being so arranged that the exhaust port and then the fuel-inlet port are opened as the piston approaches the end of its power stroke, said cylinder having also an air-inlet portleading to atmosphere and arranged adjacent to and slightly in advance of the fuel-inlet port so as to be opened by the piston after the exhaust port and before the fuel-inlet port, and a flexible flap valve having a small inertia arranged outside of the cylinder for preventing a flow of gases outwardly through said inlet port.

4. In a two-cycle internal combustion en-. gine, a cylinder having oppositely disposed fuel-inlet and exhaust ports, an engine piston movable insaid cylinder and serving as a valve to control said ports, the parts being so arranged that the exhaust port and then the fuel-inlet port are opened as the piston approaches the end of its power stroke, said cylinder having also an air-inlet port leading to atmosphere and arranged adjacent to and slightly in advance of the fuel-inlet port so as to be opened by the piston after the exhaust port and before the fuel-inlet port, a

chamber communicating with the outer end of said inlet port, said chamber having a' port leading to atmosphere, and aflexible flap valve having little inertia associated with the last mentioned port for preventing an outward flow of gas therethrough.

5. In a two-cycle internal combustion engine, a cylinder having oppositely disposed fuel-inlet and exhaust ports, an engine piston movable in said c linder and serving as a valve to control sai ports, the parts being so arranged that the exhaust port and then the fuel-inlet port are opened'as the piston approaches the end of its power stroke, said cylinder also having an air-inlet port lead ing to the atmosphere at a point adjacent to and slightly in advance of the fuel-inlet port so as to be opened after the exhaust port and before the fuel-inlet port, said air inlet port being arranged diagonally through the Wall of the cylinder so as to direct air flowing therethrough away from the exhaust port, and a deflector on the piston arranged to deflect air entering the fuel inlet port and cause it to flow along the adjacent side of the cylinder.

In testimony whereof, I sign this specification in the presence of two Witnesses.

WEBBER s. RUSSELL. 

